Pages

Mar 6, 2013

Too little, too long.

"600 pages...."

That was my first reaction, when I heard that Amish's
latest and concluding part of the Shiva Trilogy was going to be bigger than the
earlier ones. The novel had already garnered a lot of anticipation and the buzz
was building high. My little heart was weary with worry. I could not help but
think of all the hyped concluding parts of so many other series’. Be it the JK
Rowling’s Potter Series or MR’s Five Warriors. The buzz had always higher than
the results that were delivered. Was Amish going to add to the list of
disappointments? The book took a little too much time for release. The release
date was postponed twice and the buzz and anticipation roared higher. My misgivings
rose too.

When it came for pre-release order on Flipkart… I was
fast to order it. It saved me 150 bucks and I would get the book before (or at
the same time) it reached the stores. I was happy. Early last week, I got the
mail from Flipkart saying the book will reach me by Thursday last and I was
happier. Friday evening, I reached home to see a big parcel waiting on the
table for me, and I opened it with nervous energy.

First things first: I don’t like the cover. It’s muddy and
its less attractive on the earlier two. Had I not been a reader of earlier two,
I would “not” have picked this one up ONLY by looking at the cover. (I mean, check the other two and then see the last one above and tell me...which "look" more interesting?)

Two: Phew… it’s a BIG book. And for first two readings, I
had real problem focusing, coz I took some time adjusting to the font. (But it’s
possible that dynamic fonts on my Kindle has spoiled meJ)

Three: I’m against reviews with spoilers. My reviews are
usually are written to entice the reader of the review to grab the book and
read it himself. But… it’s going to be VERY hard task, to review the novel
without spoilers. So, if you want a pristine review…walk away now … (or surf
away, whichever suits you)

Now to the review.

It’s going to be hard surmising the book in one word. And
that makes my work real harder. So let me start with what I’m feeling. I wish
the book was a bit shorter. Coz the story that Amish tells in essence is a very
good narrative. It’s just a bit too long. And first 300-350 odd pages, Amish
stretches it too thin. If I did not have the bug in my head, which forces me to
complete every series I start to read… I would have given up the novel after 200
pages. The Amish that you read in first two novel, who was crisp of words and
solid of the ideas is lost somewhere in his attempt to explain the reasons and
clarifying concepts. You expected him to start on with astonishment of
discovering Brihaspati alive and well and then move on to finding the TRUE evil…
sadly, it doesn’t really happen like that. The book’s back-cover talk about
Shiva’s journey to discover the EVIL and his true adversary and then destroying
both. The back cover is not a lie. The story does chronicle Shiva’s discovery
of both. But the “discovery” happens in first 50 pages itself. And when the
great EVIL is revealed… I found myself asking “Really? THAT’S the big evil? HE
is the true adversary?”

(Spoiler alert)

The portrayal of
the Somras as evil and Bhrigu as the mastermind of it all, is sadly
under-whelming. So is the way it all is “revealed”. Amish probably forgot that
there was a gap of more than a year and half between his last installment and
this one, so he should have taken some time to build the reveal, which he did
not. And that meant a real shock-less exposure. The reasons that Brahaspati
offers to prove Somras as Evil are also presented in a rather same manner. Had
he talked about the plague in Branga a bit more or had his discussions around
disappearing of Saraswati a bit elaborative, the impact might have been a lot
stronger. Possibly, Amish was more focused on the story that unfolds AFTER the
big reveal that this was missed. But because of it, I felt the reveal was
really not THAT big. There were definitely times when you felt why Bhrigu was a
great man to oppose, like when Shiva finally learns that he can read minds. (It
was a creepy feeling, coz while Shiva was told that secret, Bhagirath was being
grilled by Bhrigu)… but I believe this came a bit too late in the story and it
lasted only for a small time, so again… a waste.

The next 250-300 pages, are all about war and war
strategy. Somehow, these 300 pages were the worst part of the entire book. I
understand that the book was based in a time when fighter planes and satellite communication
was not present and the “wars” were fought over “years” and not mere days. That
fighting against a vast expanse of Old India would have taken time… but was it
really necessary for the reader to “feel” those long months? I mean seriously…it
actually FEELS like you’ve been reading for more than 6 months…

I’m not a big fan of war movies/games/books. So,
possibly, my un-interest had something to make me feel bored. If I take a bird’s
eye view, I realized that strike and counter-strike in the stories were
actually good. Had it been crisper, It would have been much much better.

(Spoiler Alert)

Getting to the Vayuputra. For starters…They don’t appear in the story for first 400
pages. So, “WHY” the novel is called Oath of the Vayuputras is open for
discussion and your guess would be as good as mine. But once they do come in,
and you do realize that geography wise Amish is talking about Parsi community,
you kind of go with the flow. Adjust. J

The novel then picks up speed after that. The next
150-180 pages, you find the Amish that you had read in the past two books. The
narrative is tight here onwards. The story progresses with speed, and even when
things in Shiva’s world happen over a long time, the novel quickly becomes a page
turner. These last pages see a LOT happening. And even when I have shared some
spoilers above, I believe these pages need not be revealed. They need to be
read.

Going a little wry here… have you seen Harry Potter
movies? Did you see how the movies derailed when they switched the director? And
then when Peter Jackson once again took the reins of the movies in his hands,
and the movies got their original flourish back… Oath of the Vayuputras is like
that… first two novels were Amish’s style… fast, interesting and gripping.
Vayuputras’ first 300-350 pages are like he switched the director in his head…
and then after that switched back to the original director again.

So, even if it’s a BIG book you could read it, only for
the last 100 or so pages. That’s where REAL action is. Even tha epilogue/end
chapter is lame. The last page where Amish hints at what his NEXT novel is
going to be… really feels like a stretch. But even with ALL these… it’s a interesting
enough end for what was an intriguing trilogy. J